ISU Research Institute of Applied Physics employees are actively preparing for a new stage of the TAIGA project, which is the implementation of a largescale experimental astrophysics complex of a new generation with a hybrid system of detectors on a surface of 100 km2.
This promising complex was named TAIGA-100, its area of research is the physics of cosmic rays and gamma-astronomy of high and ultrahigh energies.
In the nearest future the participants of the project plan to create prototypes of new types of detectors for the recording stations of the observatory TAIGA-100, launch 20 of those stations on the territory of the Tunka Astrophysical Center for Collective Use of ISU to test and optimize the measurement methods, prepare detailed construction project, as well as choose a place for the new observatory.
Andrey Tanaev, director of ISU Research Institute of Applied Physics:
This new terrain must comply with the strict requirements for astronomical seeing conditions, ground, landscape, infrastructure possibilities. Searching for such a terrain is itself a separate and hard scientific task, which we are solving together with the employees of ISU Faculty of Geography. Recently, a research expedition returned from a potential terrain that was found not far from the southeast shore of lake Baikal on the territory of Selenga Highlands in Borgoy steppe of Dzhidinsky district of the Republic of Buryatia.
An important part of the expedition was a series of meetings of the director of ISU Research Institute of Applied Physics Andrey Tanaev with the administration of Buryat State University and Institute of Physical Materials Science of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as with the administration of Dzhidinsky district of the Republic of Buryatia, resulting in agreement on comprehensive support of the project from the district administration. Researches of BSU and IPMS SB RAS confirmed their interest in joining the collaboration and ensuring all the possible scientific, technical and logistic support for the project. A joint analytical paper describing the project based on the results of the meeting was prepared on the name of the Head of the Republic of Buryatia Alexey Tsidenov.
